Stanford Soccer Team Captain Katie Meyer's Parents Open Up About Her Death | “We’re Just Heartbroken”

Trigger Warning: This story mentions death by suicide that may be disturbing to readers. 

Stanford University soccer star Katie Meyer died by suicide earlier this week. The promising soccer goalie, who was just months away from graduation, was found dead in her dorm room on March 1, 2022.

Her parents believe their daughter's fear over potential disciplinary action from the school may have contributed to her death, according to TODAY. Steve and Gina Meyer are speaking out hoping that no other parent will have to go through the grief and loss that they are experiencing, after losing their 22-year-old daughter. 

"She died by suicide," Gina Meyer told NBC News' Stephanie Gosk. "The last couple days are like a parent’s worst nightmare and you don’t wake up from it. So it’s just horrific." 

"I don’t even think it’s hit us yet," she continued. "We’re still in shock. But we had no red flags." While searching for answers about Katie's death, the couple said they believe Katie received an email about potential disciplinary action from the university.

"Katie, being Katie, was defending a teammate on campus over an incident and the repercussions of her defending that teammate (were possibly resulting in disciplinary action)," Steven Meyer shared. 

"We have not seen that email yet," Gina said. "She had been getting letters for a couple months. This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This is the only thing that we can come up with that triggered something."

Meanwhile, Stanford also released a statement regarding the parents' belief that their daughter potentially faced some kind of disciplinary action by the school. "Our entire community is devastated by Katie’s death, and we share our deepest condolences with Katie’s family and everyone who knew her at Stanford, across the country and around the world. Katie touched so many lives. We are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters. We as a university community continue to grieve with Katie’s family and cherish our memories of her."

However, the grieving parents are now wondering if the pressure of it all was too much for their daughter to handle. "There is anxiety and there is stress to be perfect, to be the best, to be No. 1," Gina said.

Their final conversation with Katie, just hours before she took her own life, was via FaceTime. "She was excited," Gina said. "She had a lot on her plate. She had a lot going on. But she was happy. She was in great spirits."

"Just the usual jovial Katie," Steven said.

Katie is now being remembered by her teammates for her vibrant presence. "I’ve never seen someone who’s put so much heart and soul into so many different aspects of her life," Stanford senior Sierra Enge said. "She just lived life to the fullest always," former teammate Naomi Girma added.

Gina Meyer wore a cardinal red sweatshirt of Katie's during the interview. Katie wore it in a social media post just last week. "I know it’s going to sound crazy, but every mom is going to understand this, but when you smell it, it smells her, it smells like Katie, just her scent," Gina said as she cried. "I’m wearing it because it just feel I want to be close to her."

The family now hopes to help open up communication between parents and college administrators. Sure, the kids there might be above 18 and considered an adult, but the Meyers think they might have been able to save Katie had there been proper communication between them and the college. 

"We’re just we’re struggling right now," Gina said. "We are struggling to know what happened, and why it happened. We’re just heartbroken, so heartbroken."

References:

https://www.today.com/news/sports/katie-meyer-death-parents-interview-rcna18694

Cover Image Source: Twitter | ESPN